About Me:

• My name is James Duncan (Dr. Jimmy Dash) and I was born in Hawaii and raised in Sacramento, California. I enlisted in the United States Air Force as a vehicle operator (classified as a 2T1X1) when I was 17. After two tours to Iraq in support of the global war on terrorism, I separated from the military as a Non-Commissioned Officer under honorable conditions.
• After my military career, I received both my B.S. degree in Lifespan Development and M.S. degree in Human Environmental Science from the University of Arkansas, and my Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science from the Florida State University.
• This project started out with my love for television and movies. As long as I can remember I have always been a fan of entertainment. I love going to see new movies with family and friends. I always have a show on in the background whether I am doing house work or research. And, occasionally I even have watch parties to celebrate premieres or finales. Over time I started putting my education background in human development and family science to task through analyzing the fictional characters I watched on t.v. and the big screen. I began looking at the family relationships of fictional characters with a Lifespan Development lens.
• I think we all can relate to our favorite fictional characters and as a Certified Family Life Educator I believe it’s important to connect with other helping professionals to discuss what we observe about family life in order to promote positive individual and family well-being in our local communities. What better way to do that then to explore aspects of entertainment that we all can relate to in our everyday lives.

Links to Professional Background:

• University Instruction & CV
• DoD Research Team
• Non-profit volunteering
• linkedin
• Researchgate